The Jesus I Never Knew

The Jesus I Never Knew
by Philip Yancey
Yancey calls this a look at "Jesus' life 'from below,' as a spectator, one of the many who followed him around." It gives us fresh eyes.

I notice all the preconceived notions and unwarranted assumptions we have about Jesus--especially now, this Christmas season. Sitting in front of me is a manager, the "little Lord Jesus, no crying he makes." The porcelain figure is more a caricature than reality.

What if we didn't have the benefit of knowing Jesus through history's lens? How would we see him then? Who was the Jesus they knew? Yancey has a knack for entering into those questions without completely deconstructing everything (as some postmodern authors do).

Yancey dives deeply, yet writes lightly. I found myself writing "hmm," "good question," and "interesting perspective" in the margins. Yancey has a rare way of making the profound digestible and understandable.

I would call this a must-read. But (as Yancey would agree) the best way to see the true Jesus is through the Bible--in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

Still, this makes a great companion. Well-worth reading.


GRADE:
A- _ _ _ _
Not Yancey's best, but still great.

Pilgrim at Tinker Creek

Pilgrim at Tinker Creek
by Annie Dillard
“We wake, if we ever wake at all, to mystery, rumors of death, beauty, violence.”

Whatever Dillard came searching for down at Tinker Creek in Virginia, she found this. It emerged in simple forms of mantises, sycamores, muskrats, and parasitic insects.

No matter how I slice the book, I will drain it of its juice. Dillard is a masterful wordsmith with an eye for mundane richness. She dabbles in biology, theology, philosophy, entomology, and physics. While standing on old stumps, she reaches handfuls of clouds.

“Say even that you are sitting across the kitchen table from me right now. Our eyes meet; a consciousness snaps back and forth. What we know, at least for starters, is: here we--so incontrovertibly--are. This is our life, these are our lighted seasons, and then we die…. In the meantime, in between time, we can see.” (Chapter 8)

I’m not sure how else to describe this book except that it is a commentary on seeing. Annie Dillard, who is “in the market for some present tense,” has a knack for seeing. And she shares it. At one point, I put down the book and looked (really looked) at my own hand. Dillard gave me new eyes.

If you didn’t like Thoreau’s Walden genre, this won’t be for you. Otherwise, it’s a truly beautiful, thoughtful meditation well worth the pilgrimage.


GRADE:
A _ _ _ _
Bold, beautiful, breath-taking, breath-examining

Man's Search for Meaning

Man's Search for Meaning
by Viktor E. Frankl
I loved this book--UNTIL the second half. Then I couldn't believe the inconsistencies I was reading. The first half recounts Frankl's own experience in Auschwitz from his psychiatrist perspective (fascinating). The second describes Frankl's view on how to define life's meaning (overextended). He writes:

"It is, therefore, up to the patient to decide whether he should interpret his life task as being responsible to society or to his own conscience."

I was shocked to read such a relativistic viewpoint, one that validates even the very Nazi oppression that had torn him apart. Jewish, Christian, or otherwise, it just doesn't make sense. Overall, interesting thoughts but deeply flawed philosophy. Read only critically.


GRADE:
_ _ _ D+ _
Good as WWII personal story, but falls flat when crossing into existential ideas.

Giants

Giants
by Charles DeLoach
This isn't some Lord of the Rings fantasy piece. An ex-journalist with no agenda except mere fascination undertook a comprehensive combing of history books for actual accounts of giants over the ages.

The book style is A to Z reference format, but I used the Chronological Index in the back to follow their timeline--much easier. Biblical giantry is particularly well-accounted, though he also records many giants outside that era.

While most is recorded history, DeLoach also includes a slight bit of his own commentary. His "Origin of the Giants" theory is a bit far-fetched and over-extended in my opinion, but his take on "Graveyards of the Giants" is well-founded. He writes:

"Since they are people, even historians are sometimes given to exaggeration, and a few now and then even to outright lying. So can we really believe that some giants stood fourteen, seventeen, or even twenty-two feet tall? We can, for in addition to the historians' mostly reliable accounts, we have from the graveyards of the giants irrefutable evidence that some of that tremendous size once lived on earth."

Fascinating. Maybe David's Goliath story wasn't just a story after all.

For the person into historical giants, this is by far the best (and possibly only) book of its kind. Well worth reading.


GRADE:
_ B+ _ _ _
Comprehensive, but could've used a tidier format.

Jesus Wants to Save Christians

Jesus Wants to Save Christians: A Manifesto for the Church in Exile
by Rob Bell
Rob Bell writes with a silver pen, both a blessing and a curse. He has a smooth, compelling writing style, which is easy to follow but often blurs the line between truth and opinion.

Things that concerned me: Bell dangerously flirts with the notion that all humanity will be saved, he grows more human-centered than Christ-centered (i.e. We become the Eucharist), and he stretches Biblical analogies far beyond their intended (or logical) limits.

Things that challenged me: Bell presents a startling picture of the Western church that is self-consumed and generally true. It was a good reality check. (This is Chapter 5: the only chapter, in my opinion, without significant theological holes.)

Overall, a smooth read (but not as seamless as his previous two). Above all, it should be read with an especially discerning eye. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it. There are other books on a similar topic that have a more solid base.


GRADE:
_ _ C- _ _

But if you count the cover art, C+ (because it's just cool).

The Dip by Seth Godin

RATING

EXCERPTS

Page 3
Most of the time, we deal with the obstacles by persevering. Sometimes we get discouraged and turn to inspiration writing, like stuff from Vince Lombardi: “Quitters never win and winners never quit.” Bad advice. Winners quit all the time. They just quit the right stuff at the right time.

Most people quit. They just don’t quit successfully.


Page 6
Believe it or not, quitting is really a great strategy. […] You really can’t try to do everything, especially if you intend to be the best in the world.


Page 17
At the beginning, when you first start something, it’s fun. You could be taking up golf or acupuncture or piloting a plane or doing chemistry—doesn’t matter; it’s interesting, and you get plenty of good feedback from the people around you.

Over the next few days and weeks, the rapid learning you experience keeps you going. Whatever your new thing is, it’s easy to stay engaged in it.

And then the Dip happens.

The Dip is the long slog between starting and mastery. […] Successful people don’t just ride out the Dip. They don’t just buckle down and survive it. No, they lean into the Dip. They push harder, changing the rules as they go. Just because you know you’re in the Dip doesn’t mean you have to live happily with it.


Page 21
The difference between a mediocre club player and a regional champion isn’t inborn talent—it’s the ability to push through the moments where it’s just easier to quit […] and the entire process is built around many people starting while most people quit.

The Dip creates scarcity; scarcity creates value.


Page 29
Diversification feels like the right thing to do. Enter a new market, apply for a job in a new area, start a new sport. Who knows? This might just be the one.